a race victim of its own success

Labrador in the forest | Roberto Herrero

The Labrador is one of the most popular dogs in the world thanks to its aesthetics and also to its familiar and good-natured character, but such success has a negative point that we tell you in Wamiz.

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If there is a dog that unanimously falls in love with the staff, that is the farmer. A breed of dog capable of agreeing with everyone for its good nature and, above all, for its superlative aesthetic appeal. That is why it is one of the best-selling dogs in the entire planet. Specifically in the United Kingdom it is the second most popular dog, only behind the French bulldog, which also enjoys great popularity in our country. However, there are studies that show that this resounding success can be counterproductive to the development of the breed, since a very important part of the individuals does not enjoy a great state of health. We tell you everything below in Wamiz.

Labrador smiling on the street | Roberto Herrero

The study has been carried out by researchers from the Royal Veterinary College of England and the University of Sydney. They wondered if this popularity would not end up hurting the race and for that analyzed the data of 33,320 farmers who attend veterinary practices for primary care. The study has been published in the journal Canline Genetics and Epidemiology and revealed that the most common health problems in these animals are Obesity, ear infections and joint problems: "We found that 8.8% of British farmers were overweight or obese, which is one of the highest percentages among dog breeds in the VetCompass database", Professor Paul McGreevy said in a statement. These data only corroborate a previous study that identified a genetic mutation in the farmer by which it is a breed predisposed to obesity.

Chocolate-colored Labradors live less time

But even more surprising is the fact that chocolate-colored farmers die before average than those that are black or yellow: "One of the most interesting findings of our research is that the average life expectancy in the farmers revolves around twelve years. But nevertheless, the chocolate-colored ones showed a 10% shorter life expectancy", says Professor McGreevy. In addition, the researchers also deduced that ear infections are twice as frequent in individuals of this tonality and that they also have fourfold chances of developing skin-related diseases.

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Labrador chocolate color | Wikipedia

The results are conclusive

The researchers point out that these results are due, in part, to the breed's own success. When reproduced in large quantities, genetic mutations accumulate and perpetuate, which in the end ends up leading to serious health problems. For chocolate-colored farmers, this is even more surprising. In fact, the gene responsible for this beautiful color is recessive, which means that both parents must be of the same color so that the offspring also be. Therefore, the gene pool is reduced, which increases the risk of genetic diseases.

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